Description

Primitivo is a dark-skinned grape known for producing inky, tannic wines similar to a Zinfandel, intensely flavored and deeply colored. Intensely red in color gracefully developing traces of garnet with proper cellaring. Clear aromas of ripe blackberry, mulberry and cherry intermingle with delicate hints of spicey, velvety tannins.

Producer Description

Antica Masseria del Sigillo was founded in Guagnano in 1989 with the idea of producing hand crafted wines in an area that had been taken over by large industrial operations. In 2005 Claudio Quarta, a businessman who respected this philosophy, purchased the property with the aim of continuing this approach.Today, Claudio Quarta's wineries, Tenute Eme9ra (Antica Masseria del Sigillo Primitivo), Cantina Moros (Salice Salentino) and Cantina Sanpaolo (Fiano and Aglianico) are a single company and one big family. Claudio and his daughter, Alessandra and all the staff are involved in the ambitious project of reinterpreting southern Italy's wine-growing excellence, by combining the utmost respect for tradition with progress and total commitment to environmental sustainability.The Claudio Quarta "family" believe in growth through innovation and research. Their wish to explore, understand, discover and reveal is at the heart of the entire project, centered on the territory, and aiming at excellence in wine-making to take to the world markets.The adventure began with the Tenute Eme9ra winery, founded in Guagnano to highlight the local Negroamaro variety in its home area; this was followed by expansion into the Primitivo di Manduria area, to explore this variety whose strong character resembles its home area of Puglia. Soon after this came Campania, another of southern Italy's excellent wine-growing areas, with its renowned whites - Falanghina, Greco, and Fiano - and mighty reds - Aglianico d'Irpinia and Taurasi.LOCATION OF VINEYARDSLocated in the province of Lecce, an agricultural area located in the center of the Salento peninsula and well suited for viticulture, thanks to a robust combination of climate and soil structure. The Primitivo di Manduria and Salice Salentino vineyards are planted on a layers of limestone and clay, not the typical sandy soil found to the south. Additionally the hot weather of the summer months and mild temperatures in the winter allows the grapes to develop complex and intense flavors. When combined with cutting edge winemaking techniques, the wines display great amounts of elegance not typically found from this area.The Aglianico vineyards in Campania are located at 550m (1,800 feet) above sea level. Here, the grapes benefit from intense sun exposure during the day, and sizable fluctuations in temperature during the night, which enhance the natural aroma. The territory is characterized by a variety of soils on which the vineyards flourish: from clay, to limestone and sand, and the added influences of volcanic ash of Vesuvius.